Badenoch promises change after historic Tory leadership win
Kemi Badenoch has pledged to win back voters who have drifted from the Conservatives after her landmark victory in the party’s leadership contest.
The 44-year-old has made history as the first Black woman to lead a major political party in the UK.
In a closely fought race, she defeated fellow right-wing candidate Robert Jenrick, 42, by a margin of 12,418 votes, concluding a lengthy contest to succeed Rishi Sunak, who had led the party to its worst-ever defeat in July’s general election.
During her victory speech, Badenoch vowed to “renew” the party and told her enthusiastic supporters it was “time to get down to business.”
Badenoch, the sixth Conservative leader in under nine years, now faces the challenge of uniting a divided party and leading opposition against Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government.
The Saffron Walden MP emphasized the need to “bring back” voters who had left, stating, “Our party is critical to the success of our country. But to be heard, we have to be honest.”
She acknowledged that the party “made mistakes” and “let standards slip” over the last 14 years in government.
During her campaign, Badenoch avoided detailed policy announcements, focusing instead on restoring the Conservatives to their “first principles.”
Attention now shifts to her choices for top appointments as she begins shaping the party’s future direction in the coming days.
She praised Jenrick despite a sometimes bruising campaign and hinted he may be offered a senior job, telling him “you have a key role in our party for years to come”.
Badenoch, who became an MP in 2017 after a career in banking and IT, has said she would offer jobs to all of the Tories who launched leadership bids in July.
But shadow home secretary James Cleverly, who came third in the race, has ruled himself out.
The BBC understands that Badenoch plans to reveal her shadow cabinet by Wednesday, ahead of the critical Budget vote and her debut clash with Sir Keir at Prime Minister’s Questions.
Jenrick did not speak to reporters after the result was announced, but on social media called on his supporters “to unite behind Kemi and take the fight to this disastrous Labour government”.
He also thanked “everyone who supported my vision for a Conservative Party rooted in the common ground of British politics”.
Badenoch got 53,806 votes to Jenrick’s 41,388 – making it the closest Tory leadership race in recent times.
Bob Blackman, who oversaw the election as chair of the Conservative 1922 Committee, revealed the party membership had shrunk to 132,000 – the lowest level on record and down 40,000 members since the last vote by members in 2022.
Badenoch was congratulated by several of her predecessors, including Sunak, who posted on social media: “I know that she will be a superb leader of our great party.”
Ex-prime minister Boris Johnson lauded Badenoch’s “courage and clarity” and said she “brings a much needed zing and zap to the Conservative Party”.
In a social media post, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said “the first Black leader of a Westminster party is a proud moment for our country”.
He added: “I look forward to working with you and your party in the interests of the British people.”
But Labour Party chair Ellie Reeves said the Conservative leadership campaign showed the party had “learned nothing since the British people resoundingly rejected them in July”.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey also congratulated Badenoch, saying “the first Black leader of a major UK political party is a historic moment for the country”.
But Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice called Badenoch “another in a long line of Tory politicians who say one thing and do another”.
In a statement, he said: “Kemi Badenoch was front and centre of a government that failed Britain.”
